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MLB roster expansions are nearly upon us, and the Boston Red Sox certainly have no shortage of intriguing players they can call up once the calendar turns to September 1.

This is already a team loaded with young talent, to be sure.

While injuries and bullpen woes have been staples of the Cincinnati Reds' 2014 campaign, offense has been similarly woeful. We can't say for certain whether it's related to injuries to crucial players or not. Is Jay Bruce suffering his worst professional season in seven years because of the shift or because he had a knee surgery in May?

We have officially hit crunch time in the 2014 MLB season, as the month of August comes to a close and teams have roughly 30 games left to secure a spot in the postseason.

In the National League, seven teams still boast a winning record, and the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds are hanging on the fringe of contention as well.

This is exactly how Bud Selig and Major League Baseball drew it up three years ago.

With the second wild-card spot, the number of viable postseason competitors increases and more teams remain in the hunt for longer. As the summer concludes and October quickly approaches, the drama spikes.

Each team now has 30 games or fewer to do one of a few things: catch their respective division leader and avoid the play-in game, hang on to their wild-card hold or chase down that second and final spot.

SAN FRANCISCO — One night after Madison Bumgarner lit up AT&T Park by taking a perfect game into the eighth inning, Tim Hudson was electric. Stretch-run energy buzzed through the Giants clubhouse in that old, familiar way.

Trading in Major League Baseball doesn't end until Aug. 31, but it sure feels like just about all the wheeling and dealing wrapped up back on July 31, doesn't it?

For every fantasy owner, there comes a point in the season when a should-be stud just isn't cutting it—so it's time to cut him. That's what this is all about: Letting you know it's OK to let go.

Difficult late-season drops can come in all shapes and sizes, from that third-rounder not living up to expectations to the injury-prone star who just can't get and stay healthy to a midseason pick-up who broke out then flamed out.

With rosters set to expand from 25 to 40 players on Monday, September call-up fever is officially in the air.

The New York Mets are desperately trying to stick around in the NL postseason race, even though it will be difficult to overcome what is currently a 9.5-game wild-card deficit.

The team, though, seems more ready to really compete in 2015, particularly with all the young pitching it has. However, this is not to say that the Mets are perfectly fit as is to be a postseason contender next season. There are certain areas that the front office will need to address for the future.

Portland, 2008. I'm standing at the entrance of the clubhouse, the cavernous confines of the now defunct Portland Beavers, staring at a list of horse names hastily scrawled in black magic marker across a hunk of brown cardboard. We're minutes from the start of the Kentucky Derby.